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Point of Reference
by Fred Price
For many, Jesus is the nicest person they can imagine. For others, he is for the most part irrelevant. The problem for both sets of people is that they don’t really know him at all. For way too many people today, he has no real substance, existing as a mere shadow of the man who roamed the hills of Galilee and walked the streets of Jerusalem. They still feel free to call on him in prayer, expecting their wants and needs to be met expeditiously but the thought of him being the Lord of their lives – with expectations of his own – is hard to conceive if not repugnant to them. And that holds true for any number of people who stake a claim to evangelical Christianity. The only solution to this problem being a re-acquaintance with the Jesus of the Bible, not fashioned in our own image or according to our needs and preferences but one uniquely “other” than us; transcending any imaginary being we dream up and then try to “force” him to be.
The first step in rediscovering the real Jesus is to realize that what we’ve often made of him is utterly false, that he doesn’t hold the place in our lives that he should and that much of what we hold near and dear interests him much less. As with the confused, hesitant and barely believing disciples who first came to his tomb only to find the stone rolled away and the burial place empty; we want to believe in something more but can’t bring ourselves to accept anything so out of the ordinary – something so beyond our own capabilities. Having, at some point, to rephrase the cry of the father who was challenged by Jesus to believe the unbelievable, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Mark 9:24 When we do not do so, we consign him to a role we can accept and resign ourselves to circumstances we can’t control, in the process dishonoring him and finding satisfaction in neither. We need to rehear and respond to the pronouncement made to the disciples so many years ago, “He is not here… He is (however) going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” Mark 16:6,7 Galilee was the first place Jesus revealed himself to us and where he had some of his greatest success; where we must go to connect with him again. Which entails, at least in part, remembering what it was about him that captured our imagination and brought us to belief in the first place. It means re-examining what attracted us to him and re-igniting the hope he inspired in us when we first heard and felt him speak to our hearts as well as our heads. Even if – and when – we sometimes find a Jesus who poses more questions than He answers, perplexing us as often as fulfilling our wishes.
Going back to Galilee means looking once more, with a fresh approach and clear vision, at an alluring, mysterious Jesus; who was surprisingly unpredictable, dynamic and unrestrained – untamed and untamable.1 The unconventional yet loving Jesus all the more appealing, fascinating and effective than the meek, mild and docile creature many have made of him today. A creation that may indeed be easy on the nerves and more adaptive to what some prefer, but adding little of consequence to our lives in the here-and-now and less for the hereafter. The safe and accommodating Jesus failing to crystallize our thoughts, his acquiescence unable to energize our faith; never challenging us to know the unknowable, to believe the unbelievable, to experience the undeniable and express the inexpressible. The uncontrollable Jesus actually bringing more meaning to life by having the audacity to draw attention to sin, even as he provides for its forgiveness – accepting our repentance of it and acknowledgement of him as our Lord and Savior.
Therein lays the paradox of Jesus, as he offers a grace that expects repentance, a soothing balm that can at first bring pain; expressing an impatience that still holds out the promise of mercy – modeling suffering as a means of redemption. What Paul characterized as the “kindness and sternness” of God. ( Romans 11:22) Not a contradictory means of describing God but aspects of his character that work in tandem for a single purpose. A God and Savior, “…who wants all men to be saved (by coming) to a knowledge of the truth.” 1 Timothy 2:24
1From Jesus, Mean and Wild – The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God; Baker Books Publishing
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Fred Price - married (50 years), father of two grown children, grandfather of six.
Fred retired earlier this year after 42 years as a factory worker. He has always had a heart for young people and the challenges they face today. Over the years Fred has taught Discipleship Groups for High School and college students.
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